November 27
1910s-1940s *1910 - The touring Detroit Tigers, with Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford in the lineup, play an exhibition game in Havana, Cuba. With George Mullin pitching, the Tigers beat Almendares, 4–0. *1922 - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Austin McHenry dies from a brain tumor at 27 age. After hitting .350 with 17 home runs and 110 RBI in 1921, McHenry became ill during the 1922 season and was hitting .303 when forced to quit. *1941 - Joe DiMaggio is named American League Most Valuable Player. His 56-game hitting streak edges out Ted Williams and his .406 batting average for the award (291 for DiMaggio and 254 for Williams). *1947 - Triple Crown winner Ted Williams (.343 BA, 32 HR,162 RBI) is edged out by Joe DiMaggio (.315, 20, 97) for the American League MVP Award by one point. One BBWAA member, Mel Webb, fails to include Williams anywhere on his ballot. 1950s *1950 - The Boston Red Sox sign veteran shortstop Lou Boudreau to a two-year contract worth an estimated $150,000. Boudreau, a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians, had asked Cleveland to give him his unconditional release after 13 years with the club. *1951 - The St. Louis Browns send C Sherm Lollar, P Al Widmar and IF Tommy Upton to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for C Gus Niarhos, P Dick Littlefield, 1B Gordy Goldsberry, SS Joe DeMaestri and OF Jim Rivera. Rivera, a favorite of Browns manager Rogers Hornsby, will return to the Sox in eight months. *1953 - Cleveland Indians third baseman Al Rosen is unanimously named the American League Most Valuable Player with a record 336 votes. In the National League, Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella receive the honors. *1956: **Don Newcombe (27 wins, 3.06 ERA), pitcher for the National League pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers, becomes the first MLB Cy Young winner. Only one pitcher will be selected each season for this prestigious pitching award until 1967 when each league will name a winner. **Outfielder Charlie Peete, given a good shot at being the first black starter on the St. Louis Cardinals, is killed in a plane crash in Caracas, Venezuela. Peete, who had appeared in 23 games for St. Louis in 1956, was returning from playing winter ball. 1960s *1961 - The Chicago White Sox again trade fans favorite Minnie Miñoso, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals for OF/1B Joe Cunningham. *1962 - The Milwaukee Braves trade slugger Joe Adcock and pitcher Jack Curtis to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Frank Funk and outfielders Don Dillard and Ty Cline. With the addition of Adcock, first baseman prospect Walt Bond will spend another year in the minors. Bond hit .380 with six home runs in 50 at-bats for Cleveland in September. *1963: **Chicago White Sox pitcher Gary Peters edges teammate third baseman Pete Ward and Minnesota Twins outfielder Jimmie Hall for American League Rookie of the Year honors. **The Kansas City Athletics acquire 1B Jim Gentile and $25,000 from the Baltimore Orioles for 1B Norm Siebern. *1967 - Washington Senators manager Gil Hodges is send to the New York Mets for pitcher Bill Denehy and $100,000. Jim Lemon is named manager of the Senators. 1970s *1970 - Pitcher Carl Morton, who posted a 18-11 record for the last-place Montréal Expos, receives the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Morton beats out Cincinnati Reds outfielder Bernie Carbo. *1972 - The New York Yankees make one of their best trades ever, acquiring third baseman Graig Nettles from the Cleveland Indians for catcher John Ellis, infielder Jerry Kenney, and outfielders Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres. Nettles will help the Yankees win the World Series in 1977 and 1978. *1973 - San Francisco Giants outfielder Gary Matthews, who batted .300 in 145 games, outpolls eight others receiving 11 of 24 nominations for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. *1974: **St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Bake McBride wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. **Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for two years as a result of Steinbrenner's conviction for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and others. 1980s *1981 - The Detroit Tigers trade OF Steve Kemp to the Chicago White Sox for OF Chet Lemon. *1984 - The American League Gold Glove team is announced, and it is made up of the same nine players as the 1983 team: catcher Lance Parrish, first baseman Eddie Murray, second baseman Lou Whitaker, third baseman Buddy Bell, shortstop Alan Trammell, outfielders Dwight Evans, Dave Winfield and Dwayne Murphy, and pitcher Ron Guidry. *1985 - Vince Coleman, who stole 110 bases for the St. Louis Cardinals, joins Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey as the only unanimous winners of the National League Rookie of the Year Award. *1989 - Five-time National League All-Star catcher Tony Peña signs as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox. 1990s *1991: **The Dodgers acquire outfielder Eric Davis and pitcher Kip Gross from Cincinnati in exchange for pitchers Tim Belcher and John Wetteland. The Dodgers have high expectations of the brittle Davis, but he'll play in just 76 games in 1992. **Lee Elia is named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. **The New York Mets sign slugging first baseman Eddie Murray as a free agent. Murray will hit 16 home runs with 93 RBI in his first season with the Mets, but will clash with local media covering the team. *1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays sign free agent IF/OF Darnell Coles. *1997 - Hall of Famer Buck Leonard dies at the age of 90. Regarded as one of the greatest players in Negro Leagues history, Leonard starred for the powerhouse Homestead Grays, who won nine consecutive pennants. Leonard consistently ranked among the league leaders in home runs and won a batting title in 1948. 2000s *2001 The major league owners vote unanimously to extend baseball commissioner Bud Selig's contract through 2006. Births *1920 - Johnny Schmitz, All-Star pitcher *1933 - Billy Moran, All-Star infielder *1938 - José Tartabull, outfielder *1939 - Dave Giusti, All-Star pitcher *1951 - Dan Spillner, pitcher *1958 - Mike Scioscia, All-Star player and manager *1961 - Randy Milligan, infielder *1969 - Tim Laker, catcher *1971 - Iván Rodríguez, All-Star catcher *1977 - Willie Bloomquist, infielder *1978 - Jimmy Rollins, All-Star infielder Deaths *1922 - Austin McHenry, outfielder (b. 1895) *1931 - Jack Burdock, player and manager (b. 1852) *1936 - Shad Barry, outfielder (b. 1878) *1956 - Charlie Peete, outfielder (b. 1929) *1961 - Bob Harmon, pitcher (b. 1887) *1987 - Babe Herman, infielder (b. 1903) *1997 - Buck Leonard, Hall of Fame Negro Leagues player (b. 1907)